The Obsidian Conspiracy

The Obsidian Conspiracy
Studio album by
Nevermore
ReleasedJune 8, 2010
RecordedAugust–October 2009
GenreProgressive metal, thrash metal
Length45:01
51:13 (limited box-set edition)
LabelCentury Media
ProducerPeter Wichers
Nevermore chronology
Manifesto of Nevermore
(2009) 		The Obsidian Conspiracy
(2010)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Bloody Disgusting[2]
Drop-D[3]
Metal Review[4]
The New Review[5]
PopMatters[6]
Rock Reviews[7]
Sputnikmusic[8]
Rock Hard[9]

The Obsidian Conspiracy is the seventh and final studio album by American heavy metal band Nevermore. It was released on June 8, 2010, in North America by Century Media[10] and at the end of May in Europe.[11] The band's previous album, This Godless Endeavor, was released in 2005, making the five-year gap the longest between two consecutive Nevermore albums.

The Obsidian Conspiracy was met with generally positive reviews. It was the band's first album to chart in Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the United States Billboard 200. The band went on an indefinite hiatus following the departure of guitarist Jeff Loomis and drummer Van Williams in mid-2011. Subsequently, the death of frontman Warrel Dane in 2017 ended any possibility of a reunion, making The Obsidian Conspiracy the last studio recording by Nevermore.

Writing and recording

Nevermore, having written 13 new songs, entered Wichers Studio in North Carolina in August 2009 to record the album. Van Williams completed recording the drumming on the album by August 17 in Seattle. The entire recording process was finished in October.

Warrel Dane commented on the writing process: "These songs are full of newfound rage, lyrically and musically. Jeff Loomis has come up with some amazing new riffs that will no doubt please old and new fans alike. Also, I think the combination of Peter and Andy (production and mixing) will result in something very, very special."[12]

Jeff Loomis commented on the writing of the album: "I think that with the new Nevermore, it still sounds like the band, but I think I'm giving Warrel a little bit more room this time around for more vocals rather than all the notey, kind of complex stuff and all that. So this time around, it's just a little bit more wide open musically for him to really be able to do whatever he wants vocally. So we'll see what happens. It's gonna be an interesting album for us, for sure."[13]

Loomis also stated that Peter Wichers had a major role in the songwriting, encouraging him to "cut out the fat and make the songs catchier and hookier," thus creating a simplistic and stripped-down sound that differs from the original 7–8 minute complex tracks Loomis initially wanted to record.[14]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Warrel Dane; all music is composed by Jeff Loomis

No.TitleLength
1."The Termination Proclamation"3:12
2."Your Poison Throne"3:54
3."Moonrise (Through Mirrors of Death)"4:03
4."And the Maiden Spoke"5:00
5."Emptiness Unobstructed"4:39
6."The Blue Marble and the New Soul"4:41
7."Without Morals"4:19
8."The Day You Built the Wall"4:23
9."She Comes in Colors"5:34
10."The Obsidian Conspiracy"5:16
Limited edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Temptation" (The Tea Party cover)3:26
12."The Crystal Ship" (The Doors cover)2:49
13."The Purist's Drug"4:45

[15] [16]

Personnel

Nevermore

Production

Chart positions

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[17] 34
Belgian Albums Chart[18] 87
Dutch Albums Chart[19] 69
Finnish Albums Chart[20] 35
French Albums Chart[21] 108
German Albums Chart[22] 13
Greek Albums Chart[23] 3
Hungarian Albums Chart[24] 27
Swedish Albums Chart[25] 41
Swiss Albums Chart[26] 40
US Billboard 200[27] 132
US Rock Albums[27] 41
US Independent Albums[27] 18
US Hard Rock Albums[27] 13
US Tastemakers[27] 19

Release history

Region Date
Australia[28] May 28, 2010
Austria[29]
Germany[30]
Switzerland[31]
Denmark[32] May 31, 2010
France[33]
Greece[34]
Norway[35]
Portugal[36]
United Kingdom[37]
Italy[38] June 1, 2010
Spain[39]
Finland[40] June 2, 2010
Sweden[41]
Brazil June 6, 2010
United States[42] June 8, 2010
Japan July 21, 2010

References

  1. ^ The Obsidian Conspiracy at AllMusic
  2. ^ Barkan, Jonathan (June 8, 2010). "Album Review: Nevermore 'The Obsidian Conspiracy'". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  3. ^ Keane, Jonathan (August 19, 2010). "Nevermore, The Obsidian Conspiracy Review". Drop-D. Archived from the original on August 24, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  4. ^ Brandon, Jim (June 2, 2010). "Review of Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy". Metal Review. Archived from the original on January 1, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  5. ^ Anderson, Keith (June 4, 2010). "Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy Review". The New Review. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  6. ^ Colgan, Chris (June 23, 2010). "Nevermore: The Obsidian Conspiracy Review". PopMatters. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  7. ^ Stein, Lior (May 6, 2010). "Music Review of The Obsidian Conspiracy CD by Nevermore (2010)". Rock Reviews. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  8. ^ Spencer, Trey (June 4, 2010). "Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy Review". Sputnik Music. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  9. ^ Kaiser, Boris. "Rock Hard". issue 277. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  10. ^ "NEVERMORE To Release 'The Obsidian Conspiracy' In June". Blabbermouth.net. March 8, 2010. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
  11. ^ "NEVERMORE's 'The Obsidian Conspiracy' To Be Released In Europe A Week Earlier". Blabbermouth.net. March 12, 2010. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
  12. ^ "NEVERMORE's WILLIAMS Completes Drum Tracks For New Album". Blabbermouth.net. August 17, 2009. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009.
  13. ^ "NEVERMORE Guitarist Says New Material Is 'A Little Bit More Wide Open Musically'". Blabbermouth.net. August 10, 2009. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009.
  14. ^ "NEVERMORE Guitarist Talks About Making Of 'The Obsidian Conspiracy'". Blabbermouth.net. June 17, 2010. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010.
  15. ^ "NEVERMORE: 'The Obsidian Conspiracy' Track Listing Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. April 8, 2010. Archived from the original on April 11, 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
  16. ^ "NEVERMORE: 'The Obsidian Conspiracy' Two-Disc Limited Box Detailed". Blabbermouth.net. April 18, 2010. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  17. ^ "Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy - austriancharts.at". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  18. ^ "Belgian Albums Chart". ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  19. ^ "Dutch Albums Chart". Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  20. ^ "Finnish Albums Chart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  21. ^ "French Albums Chart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  22. ^ "German Albums Chart". Musicline. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  23. ^ "Greek Albums Chart". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  24. ^ "Hungarian Albums Chart". Mahasz (in Hungarian). Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. May 31, 2010. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  25. ^ "Swedish Albums Chart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  26. ^ "Swiss Albums Chart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  27. ^ a b c d e "The Obsidian Conspiracy - Nevermore". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  28. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Australia). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  29. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Austria). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  30. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Germany). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  31. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Switzerland). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  32. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Denmark). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  33. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (France). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  34. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Greece). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  35. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Norway). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  36. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Portugal). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  37. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (United Kingdom). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  38. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Italy). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  39. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Spain). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  40. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Finland). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  41. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (Sweden). Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  42. ^ "The Obsidian Conspiracy by Nevermore". iTunes (United States). Retrieved October 23, 2010.